Simultaneous radio and white light observations of the 1984 June 27 coronal mass ejection event

We present the two-dimensional imaging observations of radio bursts in the frequency range 25–50 MHz made with the Clark Lake multifrequency radioheliograph during a coronal mass ejection event (CME) observed on 1984, June 27 by the SMM Coronagraph/Polarimeter and Mauna Loa K-coronameter. The event was spatially and temporally associated with precursors in the form of meter-decameter type III bursts, soft X-ray emission and a H flare spray. The observed type IV emission in association with the CME (and the H spray) could be interpreted as gyrosynchrotron emission from a plasmoid containing a magnetic field of 2.5 G and nonthermal electrons with a number density of 10⁵ cm^–3 and energy 350 keV.On leave from Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Kodaikanal, India.     

A dynamic theory of type III solar radio bursts

All four large EUV bursts (peak 10–1030 Å flux enhancements 2 ergs cm^–2 s^–1 at 1 AU as deduced from sudden frequency deviations), for which there were available concurrent white light observations of at least fair quality, were detected as white light flares. The rise times and maxima of the white light emissions coincided with rise times and maxima of the EUV bursts. The frequency of strong EUV bursts suggests that white light flares may occur at the rate of five or six per year near sunspot maximum. All of the white light flare areas coincided with intense bright areas of the H flares. These small areas appeared to be sources of high velocity ejecta in H. The white light flares occurred as several knots or patches of 2 to 15 arc-sec diameter, with bright cores perhaps less than 2 arc-sec diameter (1500 km). They preferred the outer penumbral borders of strong sunspots within 10 arc-sec of a longitudinal neutral line in the magnetic field. The peak continuum flux enhancement over the 3500–6500 Å wavelength range is about the same order of magnitude as the peak 10–1030 Å flux enhancement.     

Sunspot motion,flares and type III bursts in McMath 11482

We have studied a series of flares in McMath 11482, 1972 August 19–22, with particular reference to the basis for the flares and comparison with dekameter radio data. We find that the flares were produced by rapid ( 1000 km h^–1) westward motion of a large new p spot. Many flares occur just in front of the spot, and they cease when the motion stops. All flares occurring in front of the spot produce type III bursts, while even strong flares elsewhere in the region produce little or no type III. The time of type III emission agrees perfectly with the start of the H flare. Thus type III bursts are only produced in favorable configurations.Simultaneous K-line movies are compared with H films and show little difference in flare appearance.     

Hα and hard X-ray development in two-ribbon flares

Morphological features of two-ribbon flares have been studied, using simultaneous ISEE-3 hard X-ray records and high-resolution Big Bear H movies for more than 20 events. Long-lasting and complex hard X-ray bursts are almost invariably found associated with flares of the two-ribbon type. We find at least three events, namely March 31, 1979, April 10, 1980, and July 1, 1980, where the occurrence of individual spikes in hard X-ray radiation coincides with suddenly enhanced H emission covering the sunspot penumbra. There definitely exist important ( 1B) two-ribbon H flares without significant hard X-ray emission.     

Hα observations of the August 12, 1975 type III-RS bursts

We present H filtergram observations of a number of the Type III-RS (reverse slope) bursts that occurred on August 12, 1975. Solar radio emission was peculiar on that date in that a large number, and proportion, of the usually rare reverse slope bursts were observed (Tarnstrom and Zehntner, 1975). We show that the radio bursts coincide in time with a homologous set of H flares located at the limbward edge of spot group Mt. Wilson 19598. We propose a model in which the reverse slope bursts are the downward branches of U bursts, whose upward branches are hidden behind the coronal density enhancement over the spot group.     

Studies of solar flares using optical,X-ray and radio data

I have studied a number of flares for which good X-ray and optical data were available. An average lag of 5.5 s between hard X-ray (HXR) start and H start, and HXR peak and Ha peak was found for 41 flares for which determination was possible. Allowing for time constants the time lag is zero. The peak H lasts until 5–6 keV soft X-ray (SXR) peak. The level of H intensity is determined by the SXR flux.Multiple spikes in HXR appear to correspond to different occurrences in the flare development. Flares with HXR always have a fast H rise. Several flares were observed in the 3835 band; such emission appears when the 5.1–6.6 keV flux exceeds 5 × 10⁴ ph cm^-2 s^-1 at the Earth. Smaller flares produce no 3835 emission; we conclude that coronal back conduction cannot produce the bright chromospheric network of that wavelength.The nearly simultaneous growth of H emission at distant points means an agent travelling faster than 5 × 10³ km s^-1 is responsible, presumably electrons.In all cases near the limb an elevated Ha source is seen with the same time duration as HXR flux; it is concluded that this H source is almost always an elevated cloud which is excited by the fast electrons. A rough calculation is given. Another calculation of H emission from compressed coronal material shows it to be inadequate.In several cases homologous flares occur within hours with the same X-ray properties.Radio models fit, more or less, with field strengths on the order of 100G. A number of flares are discussed in detail.     

Acceleration of electrons in absence of detectable optical flares deduced from type III radio bursts,Hα activity and soft X-ray emission

The relationship between H absorption features, type III radio bursts and soft X-ray emission has been examined in order to determine the characteristics of the particle acceleration process operating when a H-flare may not be detectable. It is found that transient H activity observed in the absence of reported flares is associated with production of relatively weak type III radio and soft X-ray emission. Since such optical phenomena are much more frequent than flares themselves, it is concluded that instabilities generating fast particles may be produced in the corona in a quasi-continuous way with coincident perturbations in the lower solar atmosphere.The soft X-ray component, which is similar to the precursor in flares, is not necessarily the direct product of fast particles, but is probably associated with some type of heating since both the soft X-ray emission and the H features exhibit a similar evolution, the type III bursts occurring near the maximum of this perturbation. The observations are consistent with a model in which the electron acceleration region is located at an altitude where the ion density is 10⁹ cm^–3 and most of the accelerated electrons( 20 keV) are confined to coronal altitudes where the ion density is 10¹⁰ cm^–3.     

Theory of the Trojan asteroids,IV

In a previous publication (1977) the author has constructed a family () of long-periodic orbits in the Trojan case of the restricted problems of three bodies. Here he constructs the domain of the analytical solution of the problem of the motion, excluding the vicinity of thecritical divisor which vanishes at the exact commensurability of the natural frequencies ₁ and ₂. In terms of thecritical masses m_j(₂), or the associatedcritical energies _j ² (m), is the intersection of the intervals ofshallow resonance, of the form. Inasmuch as the intervals |₂– _j ² |<_j ofdeep resonance aredisjoint, it follows that (1) the disjointed family () embraces the tadpole branch, 0²1, lying in: and (2) despite the clustering of _j ² (m) atj=, the family () includes, for ²=1, an asymptoticseparatrix that terminates the branch in the vicinity of the Lagrangian pointL ₃.In a similar manner, the family () can be extended to the horseshoe branch 1<_{2 2} ² .     

Extreme ultraviolet flashes of solar flares observed via sudden frequency deviations: Experimental results

Properties of solar-flare EUV flashes measured via a type of ionospheric event, called a sudden frequency deviation (SFD), are presented. SFD's are sensitive to bursts of radiation in the 1–1030 Å wavelength range. He ii 303.8 Å, O v 629.7 Å, HL 972.5 Å and C iii 977.0 Å have essentially the same impulsive time dependence as the 1–1030 Å flash responsible for SFD's. Soft X-rays (2–20 Å) and certain EUV lines have a much slower time dependence than the 1–1030 Å flash. Most SFD's have some fine structure, but marked quasi-periodicity in EUV flashes is quite rare. EUV flashes are closely associated with hard X-ray bursts, white-light emission, microwave radio bursts and small bright impulsive kernels in the H flare. The intensity of EUV flashes depends on the central meridian distance of the H flare location; the intensity decreases at the limb. The total energy radiated in the 10–1030 Å flash for the largest events observed is about 10³¹ ergs.     

Characteristics of solar coronal source regions producing 3He-rich particle events

We use H, X-ray, and kilometric radio data to examine the solar coronal activity associated with energetic (1 MeV/nucl^–1) ³He-rich particle events observed near Earth. The basis of the study is the 12 ³He-rich events observed in association with impulsive 2 to 100 keV electron events reported by Reames et al. (1985). We find that when H and X-ray brightenings can be associated with ³He/electron events, they have onsets coinciding to within 1 min of that of the associated metric type III bursts. In three or four events we found no associated H or X-ray flares, and in two events even the metric type III bursts were weak or absent. The measured low-energy (2 keV) electron spectra for these events show no evidence of a flattening due to Coulomb collisional losses. These results and several other recent findings are consistent with the idea that the ³He/electron events are due to particle acceleration in the corona well above the associated H and X-ray flares.     

Solar soft X-rays and solar activity

Flare-associated soft X-ray bursts (8–12 Å) are examined for 283 events observed by OSO-III. These bursts are shown to be predominantly thermal in nature. Their time-profiles are roughly similar to those of the associated H flares, although the X-ray burst begins about two minutes earlier, on the average. The strength of the soft X-ray burst is directly related to the area and brilliance of the flare, the age and flare-richness of the associated plage, and the general level of solar activity at the time of the burst. The peak enhancements in the soft X-ray and H emission rates during flares are of the same order of magnitude, as are the total flare energies radiated at these wavelengths. We estimate that soft X-radiation accounts for up to 10% of a flare's total electromagnetic emission.NRC/NAS Resident Research Associate.     

Directivity of non-thermal X-ray emission from solar flares

An attempt has been made in the present work to reveal the directivity of solar non-thermal X-ray emission using the data obtained from the Prognoz and Explorer satellites. The frequency of occurrence of X-ray bursts and the mean intensities of the emission are studied as a function of distance from the central meridian. The most complete statistics have been obtained for the 4–24 keV X-ray bursts for the period 1970–1973. The X-ray burst frequency of occurrence normalized to the corresponding H flare frequency increases towards the solar limb. During the studied period this trend is more pronounced to the east than to the west. Distributions of the mean intensities of X-ray bursts are very similar to those of the frequency of occurrence of X-ray bursts; the effect is more noticeable for the low intensity bursts. The effect of the east-west asymmetry for H flares has been found to vary in magnitude and direction during the 20th solar activity cycle.     

Simultaneous multifrequency observations of an eruptive prominence at millimeter wavelengths

Radio images and spectra of an eruptive prominence were obtained from simultaneous multifrequency observations at 36 GHz, 89 GHz, and 110 GHz on May 28, 1991 with the 45-m radio telescope at Nobeyama Radio Observatory (NRO), the National Astronomical Observatory, Japan (NAOJ). The radio spectra indicated that the optical depth is rather thick at 36 GHz whereas it is thin at 89 and 110 GHz. The H data, taken at Norikura Solar Observatory, NAOJ, suggest that the eruption of an active region filament was triggered by an H flare. The shape and position of the radio prominence generally coincided with those of H images. The radio emission is explained with an isothermal cool thread model. A lower limit for the electron temperature of the cool threads is estimated to be 6100 K. The range of the surface filling factors of the cool threads is 0.3–1.0 after the H flare, and 0.2–0.5 in the descending phase of the eruptive prominence. The column emission measure and the electron number density are estimated to be of the order of 10²⁸ cm^–5 and 10¹⁰ cm^–3, respectively. The physical parameters of a quiescent prominence are also estimated from the observations. The filling factors of the eruptive prominence are smaller than those of the quiescent prominence, whereas the emission measures and the electron densities are similar. These facts imply that each cool thread of the prominence did not expand after the eruption, while the total volume of the prominence increased.     

EUV emission,filament activation and magnetic fields in a slow-rise flare

The evolution of coronal and chromospheric structures is examined together with magnetograms for the 1B flare of January 19, 1972. Soft X-ray and EUV studies are based on the OSO-7 data. The H filtergrams and magnetograms came from the Sacramento Peak Observatory. Theoretical force-free magnetic field configurations are compared with structures seen in the soft X-ray, EUV and H images. Until the flare, two prominent spots were connected by a continuous dark filament and their overlying coronal structure underwent an expansion at the sunspot separation rate of 0.1 km s^–1. On January 19, the flare occurred as new magnetic fields emerged at 10¹⁹ Mx h^–1 beneath the filament, which untwisted and erupted as the flare began. The pre-flare coronal emissions remained unchanged during the flare except for the temporary addition of a localized enhancement that started 5 min after flare onset. EUV lines normally emitted in the upper transition region displayed a sudden enhancement coinciding in time and location with a bright H point, which is believed to be near the flare trigger or onset point. The EUV flash and the initial H brightening, both of which occurred near the center of the activated filament, were followed by a second EUV enhancement at the end of the filament. The complete disruption of the filament was accompanied by a third EUV enhancement and a rapid rise in the soft X-ray emission spatially coincident with the disappearing filament. From the change of magnetic field inferred from H filtergrams and from force-free field calculations, the energy available for the flare is estimated at approximately 10³¹ erg. Apparently, changes in the overlying coronal magnetic field were not required to provide the flare energy. Rather, it is suggested that the flare actually started in the twisted filament where it was compressed by emerging fields. Clearly, the flare started below the corona, and it appears that it derived its energy from the magnetic fields in or near the filament.NCAR is sponsored by NSF.     

Association of type II solar radio bursts with coronal structures above Hα filament channels

A study of type II solar radio bursts recorded at 160 MHz by the Culgoora radioheliograph during 1980 to 1982 shows that the radio emission occurs above H filaments rather than above H flares. This suggests that the type II radio emission most probably originates from within a coronal helmet streamer overlying the filament channel.     

Hα and radio observations of LSI+61o303

Quasi simultaneous H and radio observations of LSI+61^o303 during August-September 1993 are presented. The radio data show that during the studied epoch the outburst has peaked at radio phase 0.6, at level100 mJy. No significant variations in the H profile at phases 0.5 to 0.65 have been detected. A remarkable increase of the EW and FWHM of the H blue peak is observed at radio phase 0.23. Possible reasons are considered.     

Lyman continuum observations of solar flares

A study is made of Lyman continuum observations of solar flares, using data obtained by the Harvard College Observatory EUV spectroheliometer on the Apollo Telescope Mount. We find that there are two main types of flare regions: an overall mean flare coincident with the H flare region, and transient Lyman continuum kernels which can be identified with the H and X-ray kernels observed by other authors. It is found that the ground level hydrogen population in flares is closer to LTE than in the quiet Sun and active regions, and that the level of Lyman continuum formation is lowered in the atmosphere from a mass column density m 5/sx 10^–6 g cm^–2 in the quiet Sun to m 3/sx 10^–4 g cm^–2 in the mean flare, and to m 10^–3g cm^–2 in kernels. From these results we derive the amount of chromospheric material evaporated into the high temperature region, which is found to be - 10¹⁵g, in agreement with observations of X-ray emission measures. A comparison is made between kernel observations and the theoretical predictions made by model heating calculations, available in the literature; significant discrepancies are found between observation and current particle-heating models.     

Electron acceleration and heating in solar flares: Interpretation of Hα signatures

Vector magnetogram, H, and hard X-ray observations of flares are reviewed which show that nonthermal electron signatures in H are never cospatial with regions of maximum current density for the small number of flares analyzed, but lie to the sides of these regions. By considering electron acceleration and transport requirements, four conditions are found that must be fulfilled to observe nonthermal electron signatures in H: (1) The plasma beta 0.3 in the acceleration region. (2) The energy flux of electrons above 20 keV is greater than 10¹⁰ erg cm^–2 s^–1. (3) The column densityN 10²⁰ cm^–2 between the electron source and the chromosphere. (4) The coronal pressure in the flux tube connecting to the H layerp 100 dyne cm^–2. Condition 2 can be most easily met in the initial stages of flares. In contrast, the only condition for a high-pressure H signature isp 1000 dyne cm^–2, which is most easily met in a region of maximum current density or heating and far enough into the flare for significant heating to have occurred. Thus, high-pressure signatures should be expected to occur more frequently than nonthermal electron signatures and to occur generally later in time.Also Guest Worker at NOAA Space Environment Laboratory Boulder Colorado U.S.A.     

Remote flare brightenings and type III reverse slope bursts

We present two large flares which were exceptional in that each produced an extensive chain of H emission patches in remote quiet regions more than 10⁵ km away from the main flare site. They were also unusual in that a large group of the rare type III reverse slope bursts accompanied each flare.The observations suggest that this is no coincidence, but that the two phenomena are directly connected. The onset of about half of the remote H emission patches were found to be nearly simultaneous with RS bursts. One of the flares (August 26, 1979) was also observed in hard X-rays; the RS bursts occurred during hard X-ray spikes. For the other flare (June 16, 1973), soft X-ray filtergrams show coronal loops connecting from the main flare site to the remote H brightenings. There were no other flares in progress during either flare; this, along with the X-ray observations, indicates that the RS burst electrons were generated in these flares and not elsewhere on the Sun. The remote H brightenings were apparently not produced by a blast wave from the main flare; no Moreton waves were observed, and the spatially disordered development of the remote H chains is further evidence against a blast wave. From geometry, time and energy considerations we propose: (1) That the remote H brightenings were initiated by direct heating of the chromosphere by RS burst electrons traveling in closed magnetic loops connecting the flare site to the remote patches; and (2) that after onset, the brightenings were heated by thermal conduction by slower thermal electrons (kT1 keV) which immediately follow the RS burst electrons along the same loops.     

The behaviour of the infrared lines of neutral oxygen and the balmer lines of hydrogen in the spectra of early-type stars with emission lines

The equivalent widths of the oxygen lines at 7774 and 8446 and of H (and some H) have been measured for 22 early-type, emission-line stars. A strong correlation between H and 8446 intensities has been found, although there is no such correlation between H and 7774. This confirms the probability that Bowen's mechanism is operative (the neutral oxygen 3³ D state is overpopulated because the excitation energy of Ly- nearly coincides with that of theOi 1025 line). The possibility of using 8446 and H equivalent widths for a comparison of oxygen to hydrogen abundances in these stars is discussed.